Tesla’s expanding its robotaxi ambitions beyond Austin. On November 6, 2025, the company announced plans to launch its autonomous ride-hailing service in Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. This marks a major step forward for Tesla’s self-driving vehicle program, which started with an invite-only launch in Austin on June 22, 2025.
The Austin rollout required safety monitors to sit in the front passenger seat. However, Tesla has shifted to having monitors in the driver’s seat for highway trips. The company seeks to remove safety monitors entirely by the end of 2025. Despite early operational incidents that caught regulators’ attention, Tesla’s moving forward with expansion. Tesla’s expansion signals confidence in FSD AI technology as the company demonstrates readiness for wider deployment. Musk acknowledged that even a single accident would generate significant negative publicity and emphasize the reputational risk of accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has requested details from Tesla about its robotaxi plans amid ongoing collision investigations.
Tesla’s targeting major cities with strong ride-hailing markets. The company’s already obtained testing licenses in Arizona and Nevada before launching public service. This strategy of filing for licenses ahead of regulatory approval is typical for Tesla. The expansion depends on following state-specific autonomous vehicle rules in each location. Tesla’s vision-only system relies on eight cameras and AI to navigate without the lidar and radar technology used by competitors like Waymo.
The current robotaxi fleet uses Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving software. Tesla’s website highlights the Model Y as its primary autonomous ride vehicle. The company’s also developing the Cybercab, a purpose-built autonomous vehicle designed specifically for the robotaxi network. Production of the Cybercab is scheduled to begin in 2026, with significant volume coming in 2027. The robotaxi fleet will require regular software updates to enhance performance and add new autonomous driving features.
Elon Musk stated that Tesla intends to operate in 8 to 10 metropolitan areas by the end of 2025. The company’s ultimately aiming for “a dozen cities” across the country. Eventually, Tesla plans to achieve full Level 4 or Level 5 autonomy, which means the vehicles wouldn’t need human controls at all.
Tesla faces tough competition. Waymo leads the market with roughly 250,000 fully autonomous paid rides weekly. Amazon’s Zoox is operating driverless vehicles on the Las Vegas Strip since September 2023. Uber’s also planning to develop 100,000 robotaxis with partners. Market analysts project autonomous taxis will generate $10 billion in revenue by 2030. Tesla’s entrance into these five cities represents its biggest challenge yet to established ride-hailing competition.